As one of this year’s nominees for Best Foreign Film, Sebastián Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman covers a sensitive issue well, delivering a powerful film worthy of its Oscar nod. A Fantastic Woman follows aspiring singer Marina Vidal (Daniela Vega) through her experiences as a transgender woman who wants nothing more than to fulfill her life goals. Unfortunately, when her boyfriend Orlando (Francisco Reyes) suddenly dies, Marina finds herself unable to properly mourn, as Orlando’s family are quick to throw suspicion and scorn towards our protagonist when they discover her gender identity.

From now until March 4th, the Oscars hype will follow some of the most popular names in filmmaking. The nominees for Documentary, Live Action, and Animated shorts, however, are rarely as eminent in theaters or for audiences. Short films are neither as accessible or as sought after as films with longer running times. Luckily, now’s the perfect time for you to change that before the Oscars air in March. Theaters like O Cinema and The Bill Cosford Cinema will be playing all of the nominees for the short film categories starting this weekend!

Are you obsessed with Awards shows? Can’t get enough of that Oscars buzz? Do you live to see the red-carpet entrances of your favorite celebrities and filmmakers? Well, great news! Here’s your opportunity to watch The 90th Academy Awards with other Oscars fanatics and movie-buffs. The FIU Film Studies Program will be hosting a live screening of the Oscars on March 4th in GC 140 starting at 7 p.m. with food, games, and a red-carpet!

Rejoice, film enthusiasts! Oscar Season is upon us once again. March 4th marks the 90th Academy Awards, a night of celebrating some of the most critically acclaimed films of the previous year. The Academy Awards (AKA The Oscars) is the artistic event of the season, where lovers of the medium gather around the television to watch cringey, topical humor – Jimmy Kimmel, unfortunately, returns as this year’s emcee – inspirational speeches, and debate on whether or not certain movies deserve to win certain awards. More importantly, it is a night that recognizes achievements in filmmaking. Whether it be the less flashy technical awards like Best Sound Mixing, or much grander awards like Best Director, the importance of the event is to recognize fine works of art and all those that worked on them. While the winners should be applauded for their hard work, it is important to not forget that cinema is a transformative art and that the greatest prize of all is what a film could mean to someone as a personal level. That being said: if Roger Deakins doesn’t win Best Cinematography for Blade Runner 2049, the Academy must be blind.

In a momentous occasion, Moonlight came out on top at the 89th Academy Awards. Despite Hollywood’s checkered history around race, religion, and sexuality, the film that was made on a shoestring budget managed to take home three awards on Sunday night. The Academy Awards opened and closed the ceremony with Moonlight winning an award. The film taking home the biggest prize of the night, Best Picture, marks a huge step forward for the Academy. A coming of age film about gay man of color living in Liberty City, not about slavery or the civil rights movement, has expanded the Academy’s recognition of black filmmaking beyond confining storylines or stereotypes.

Are this year’s Oscars another parade of safe Hollywood self-congratulation or a courageous vote of confidence for under-recognized artists? Well, some of both. The list of nominees was released on January 24th and came with a quite a few surprises. This list of nominations breaks several records, offers several first time nominations, and even cements a comeback story. So, without further ado, here are the highlights of the nominees.